Slow Cooker Beef Stew – a savory, hearty bowl of beef stew slowly cooked to perfection with the aroma from onion, ginger, fresh thyme and smoked paprika and some vegetable add ons of potatoes, carrots and peas. A perfect winter season comfort food!
This is the season of the year where I get to dust off and used too often my reliable slow cooker. But honestly, even if there’s a heat wave in LA, I would still prepare slow cooker recipes to serve for dinner.
Stews are no doubt a winning weeknight meal no matter what season it is. Good thing I have a slow cooker to cook it slow and tender and make dinner while I do other things.
I can still run some errands, clean the house or work on my blog while I wait. See the convenience of modern appliances? It’s a time-saver!
This Slow Cooker Beef Stew here is browned first in a hot skillet to obtain best results, then added with some aromatics: onions, ginger, garlic, thyme, smoked paprika, and bay leaf before throwing it all in the slow cooker.
For an ultimate flavorful and tender chunky beef, cook it on high for about 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours.
The long wait is definitely worth it! You would gladly chow down on this straight from the pot. 😉 Plus, you get to enjoy some healthy add-ons like potatoes, carrots and peas, too.
Serve it with a crusty bread or white rice to load up your body especially this winter season. Yes, it’s a reasonable thing to do during this season. Happy eating! 😉
Tips and Notes:
- I highly suggest that you don’t skip the searing part since this brings out a better tasting beef cut with a good crust on all sides.
- When choosing the potatoes to use, go with Yukon potatoes as they are buttery and won’t easily fall apart when cooked longer.
- You may opt to use crushed or diced tomatoes, however, the concentration of flavors from the tomato paste brings so much more to this beef stew.
- If you want to thicken up the consistency of the stew, you can mix equal parts of flour and butter together and add it to the last hour of cooking. Or you can simply mashed 3-4 chunks of potatoes and mix it well into the stew as a thickener.
- To store this stew, refrigerate it in a shallow container and let it cool down first. Then cover it tightly and refrigerate for up to 2-3 days.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (0.91 kg) stew beef cut in small chunks
- ¼ cup (60 ml) canola oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- ½ teaspoon (1 g) minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon (2.80 g) minced garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons (32.76 g) tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Bouillon powder Beef Chicken or vegetable adjust to taste (optional)
- 1 tablespoon (0.80 g) fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon (2.1 g) smoked paprika
- 2 cups (470 ml) broth/water or more
- 2-3 Green Onions, diced
- 1-2 pounds (500 g-1 kl) potatoes cut in large chunks
- 2-3 Large carrots cut in large chunks
- 8-10 ounce Mushrooms
- 1 cup (150 g) peas
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2-3 tablespoons (7.6 g-11.4 g) parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Season stew beef with salt and pepper to thoroughly cover all sides
- Heat the oil an oven safe Dutch oven pan over medium heat. Add stew beef and brown well, turning once, about 2 -3 minutes per side, until beef browns up. Do not overcrowd pan. Cook in batches, if necessary.
- Add onions, ginger, garlic, thyme, smoked paprika, and bay leaf to the skillet. Stir for about 2-3 minutes until onions is translucent.
- Add tomato paste and bouillon. Stir for another minute,, then add water or broth to the skillet scrape all sides, Bring to a boil , remove and and pour in the slow cooker.
- Then throw in carrots, potatoes, mushrooms and peas in the slow cooker and salt according to preference.
- Cover and cook on high for about 3-4 hours or low for 6 -7 hours.
- Remove, garnish with parsley and serve with bread.
Nutrition Information:
Season stew beef with salt and pepper to thoroughly cover all sides. Heat the oil an oven safe Dutch oven pan over medium heat. Add stew beef and brown well, turning once, about 2 -3 minutes per side, until beef browns up. Do not overcrowd pan. Cook in batches, if necessary.
Add onions, ginger, garlic, thyme, smoked paprika, and bay leaf to the skillet.
Stir for about 2-3 minutes until onions is translucent. Add tomato paste and bouillon. Stir for another minute, then add water or broth to the skillet scrape all sides, Bring to a boil, remove and and pour in the slow cooker.
Then throw in carrots, potatoes and peas in the slow cooker and salt according to preference. Cover and cook on high for about 3-4 hours or low for 6 -7 hours. Remove, garnish with parsley and serve with bread.
Kim says
Made this yesteday. Absolutely best recipe for beef stew. The wholw family loved it. Thank you for great recipe!
imma africanbites says
I’m so happy your family loved it. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
Allan says
Hi ImmaculateBites
Tried this recipe for slow cooked beef stew for the first time last night and fully agree with all the rest of the reviews. We used ordinary chillies and all worked very well with absolutely amazing flavours and fantastic taste. We’ll be having this again very soon. Thanks again for posting the recipe!
Allan
imma africanbites says
Yaaay! I’m so glad you like it, Allan. Thanks for dropping by.
Ak says
Hi I made this recipe only change was very little chilli amazing results. I also included turnips as part of my veg. Thank you for sharing I always love your recipes thou, so I knew it would be delicious.
ImmaculateBites says
So happy to hear this, glad it worked out well for you.
Linda says
This recipe caught my eye and I decided I had to try it. Oh my goodness, it is fantastic! The flavors are absolutely divine, I definitely will be making this a one of my regulars!
ImmaculateBites says
Yay! So glad to hear it worked out well for you. Thanks Linda!
Peter Woodward says
Hi, it look’s absolutely fabulous, I noticed in the picture there are mushrooms but its not mentioned in the ingredient is this just an option or a necessity. Regards Peter
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Peter! I have made this stew with or without the mushrooms and it works out just fine. However, I prefer with mushrooms. Have updated recipe . Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
Daniel Lachapelle says
Superb!